Blog

It was the first Thanksgiving dinner I ever made all by myself. The food came out great. But I didn't tell you much about the actual dinner because, well, it's a boring story. I spent all day in the kitchen making dinner, and then my husband and I ate it. That's it.

The problem is that we didn't have anybody over for Thanksgiving. Everybody knows that Thanksgiving is the ultimate holiday for hospitality - but the thought of hosting Thanksgiving dinner makes me want to crawl under the covers and hide.

It's the turkey's fault, I think.

Cooking a turkey for a crowd intimidates me. There is nothing more nerve wracking than the thought of handling a raw 20 lb bird, stuffing and cooking it, all while looking presentable and calm/cool/collected because you have a dining room full of people to entertain - some of whom traveled great distances to eat the very bird that you must remember to take out of the oven, artfully arrange on a big tray, and carefully carry to the table for that big Norman Rockwell moment.

Hello? PRESSURE.

And how do you keep a smile on your face while your entire family is taking pictures of you and the bird that will last for all eternity? Don't people wonder if the turkey is raw? Overcooked? But you won't know until you carve it.

(How do you carve a turkey anyways?)

I get all shaky just THINKING about it.

So when the people at Butterball contacted me to see if I was interested in joining the famed Turkey Talk-Line as a blogger, I was sure they had made a mistake.

But then they told me that they would fly me to their Chicago kitchens and teach me everything I need to know about turkey. I'll even be assigned a mentor! And I get to learn right alongside two of my favorite bloggers: Susan Wagner and Chris Jordan.

My reaction was very similar to this little girl's:

How lucky am I? This is the year I get over my fear of hosting Thanksgiving dinner!

Does Thanksgiving intimidate you too? No worries - I promise to share everything I learn with you. For now, I'm off to Chicago for Butterball University. Yes, Butterball University. We're talking the Ivy League of Thanksgiving here. This is going to be good.